With the end of California’s rent moratorium less than six weeks away, the Fresno City Council voted to move forward with an eviction protection plan that includes both mediation and free legal counsel for some vulnerable tenants.
The Eviction Protection Program, introduced by Council Vice President Nelson Esparza and Councilmember Tyler Maxwell on Tuesday, lays out the framework for a plan.
The EPP passed with plans of working out the language and details.
“I don’t think it checks off every single box for any one of those groups whether it’s the advocates, whether it’s the council, the administration or the apartment association,” Maxwell said. “But I think it checks off enough boxes for us to say, ‘This is a good piece of policy.’”
The EPP was approved 6-0. Councilmember Garry Bredefeld recused himself from the vote because he owns four or more rental properties in Fresno. Mayor Jerry Dyer did not weigh in on the conversation for the same reason.
The council, however, is yet to find a funding source or a law firm to represent tenants who qualify for free legal counsel, nor have they determined a potentially unlawful eviction.
One of three proposals considered by the City Council for tenant protections ahead of the June 30 moratorium end date, EPP pulls from both the Rental Mediation Program by Council President Luis Chavez and the Right to Counsel program by housing advocates at Leadership Counsel and Faith in the Valley.
During public comment at Thursday’s City Council meeting, housing advocates voiced support for the proposal but pushed back on the stipulation that only those facing potentially unlawful evictions should have access to legal aid. They said that anyone who is served an eviction notice is vulnerable to becoming homeless.
“The Eviction Protection Program is absolutely a step in the right direction and will help some renters,” said Janine Nkosi, regional advisor for Faith in the Valley. “However, given the scope of the problem before COVID-19, and now that we’re in a global pandemic, we believe that with a handful of revisions, the program could have a much bigger impact.”
Chavez said he also has reservations about the EPP proposal but for different reasons than the Right to Counsel Coalition.
“If we can narrow this proposal down to where our city attorney can make an analysis and assessment on … both parties abiding by the rules, then I think we can eliminate a lot of the concerns I had originally with the original (right to counsel) proposal,” Chavez said.
Maxwell said the EPP is a starting point for “collaboration with the community” on how the program will be implemented moving forward.
Moving forward, the city council will seek proposals from law firms to provide legal assistance to tenants who qualify for the program, Esparza said.
Esparza said the council will begin discussing funding sources for the program next month. City Manager Thomas Esqueda said one potential funding source is the National Mortgage Special Deposit Fund, which allocates $330 million to California renters for legal assistance. Another possible source of funds is Fresno’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
Esparza wrote in a statement to The Bee, “I look forward to the thoughtful implementation of the EPP as a key strategy in slowing the growth of Fresno’s increasing homeless population.”
